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Circular Amulet With Head of Bearded SerapisCirca 1st Century BC -2nd Century AD
Description: Lovely rich blue-green glazed composition circular amulet with integral loop at top. The amulet depicts a frontal portrait bust of the deity Serapis with the usual full beard and corn modius on his head. In Rome, Serapis was worshiped in the Iseum Campense, the sanctuary of the goddess Isis located in the Campus Martius and built during the Second Triumvirate. The Roman cults of Isis and Serapis gained in popularity late in the first century thanks to the god's role in the miracles that the imperial usurper Vespasian experienced in the city of Alexandria, where he stayed prior to his return to Rome as emperor in 70 AD. Length: 1.0 in. (2.5 cm) Condition: Intact as shown. Provenance: Private New England collection of an Egyptian lady who emigrated to the US in 1956. Exhibited: Amarillo Art Center, Texas, October 9, 1974-November 3, 1974, as part of lot #21. Reference: See Amulets by Flinders Petrie, #147, for a similar amulet from the Roman Period. Weblinks: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serapis Price: $ 400 Copyright ©2010 by Fragments of Time - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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